Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling, I'm just another broke teenager who doesn't own any of the characters or settings that she writes with.
By: Nickzchick
"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Ron complained as Professor McGonagall began her first Transfiguration lesson with a lecture on the importance of the OWLs to their magical education.
"Be quiet," said Seamus with a smirk. "She's giving us some important information." He earned a death glare from Ron and an admiring gaze from Hermione for taking the words straight out of her mouth.
Ron redirected his anger after a few minutes and concentrated on attempting to burn holes through McGonagall's desk with his eyes. Meanwhile, he failed to notice that the professor had finished lecturing on OWLs and turned to reviewing the subject of inanimate object to living creature transfiguration.
"For a quick review, does anyone remember what special wand movement is required for transfiguring a teapot into a tortoise?" she asked the class.
She promptly ignored the few hands that had shot up and scanned the class for slackers who weren't paying attention.
"Weasley!" she snapped. "Perhaps you would like to enlighten us?"
Ron continued staring, not realizing that the Professor was addressing him. Harry delivered a sharp kick to his shins to snap him out of his trance.
"Ow!" Ron protested. "What now?"
"We were wondering, Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall acidly. "If you would like to share with us the answer to my question, so that we can all review last year's material before starting on today's lesson."
"I… er…um…" Ron stuttered, evidently wondering what the question had been.
Professor McGonagall finally gave up and turned to the raised hands.
"Yes Seamus?"
"The proper wand movement in transfiguring a teapot into a tortoise requires bringing the wand downward at a moderate pace before flicking the tip back up to about two centimeters away from the original starting point," he said, sounding more like Hermione than his usual answers which gave as minimal information as possible.
"Good Finnigan," said McGonagall. "Very concise. Five points to Gryffindor."
Hermione smiled at Seamus, and he gladly responded with a grin and a wink.
Ron was fuming by the time class was over.
"…don't know WHAT she was thinking," he complained to Harry as they headed to Divination. "We're her friends! How can she just roll her eyes at me and goggle at some phony twit that puts on this fake plastic image to get her attention…"
Like a good friend, Harry listened to his ranting and raving patiently until he finally got fed up and focused on the new looks some of the paintings had adopted for the first day of school. Just as he passed a particularly interesting painting with a scared looking witch frantically filing away at a Sphinx's claws, Ron suddenly stopped his steady flow of complaints.
"Hey Harry!" said Seamus Finnigan as he and Dean approached them. "Weasley," he acknowledged with a curt nod, receiving an equally cold lift of the eyebrows from Ron. "Heading up to Divination like us I suppose. Harry, mind if I have a word quickly?"
Without waiting for a response, Seamus pulled Harry aside and dropped behind the other two.
"Harry, look, I'd just like to know, what's the deal between Weasley and Hermione?" he asked straightforwardly.
Harry was taken aback a little at his direct question. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean, does he like her or anything?" Seamus clarified.
"I would have thought that you would have figured that out yourself," Harry said, not too keen on being used to spy on his best friend's feelings.
"So yes," Seamus said with a smirk. "OK, I figured that. So let me ask you something else. He's been best friends with her for four years now, why not just make his move?"
"Maybe he's waiting for the right time," Harry replied carefully, not wanting to make Seamus mad or betray Ron.
Seamus snorted. "Whatever, if he's not straightforward enough to ask her out then its his loss, because I'm not afraid. She'd be better off with a more confident person anyway, don't you agree?"
"Oh look, there's the classroom," Harry commented tactfully.
They followed Ron and Dean up the ladder and into Professor Trelawney's shrine of phony divination equipment, or so they had always believed.
"Welcome, my children," Professor Trelawney greeted in a misty voice. "So nice to see you again in the real world. Ah yes, I can already see that some of you did not enjoy your summer very much. Alas, I fear that for a selected few, the school year will bring worse danger." She stared pointedly at Harry who had taken his usual seat next to Ron and took no notice of her warning.
"Now that all of us are here," she continued, slightly fazed that Harry had not sheltered himself from imminent danger immediately. "Let us start right into our next branch of Divination. Fire and smoke signs." She paused to let the drama sink in. "We will be examining the flickering flame of fire and learning to recognize the figures seen dancing in it, and also the billowing smoke that this fascinating phenomenon produces. The fire is as accurate as an orb in unfogging the misty layer of confusion that shrouds the secrets of the future.
"Now let us start by lighting the crystal fire chambers at your tables. After the fire is lit, add a teaspoon of each bowl of magical powder at your table. Then examine the flame dance and the pattern of smoke it produces. Look closely, my dears, and you will uncover the events that have yet to take place."
Harry rolled his eyes and took out his wand. He slipped it in through the top of the chamber and said ignitus. Immediately, a normal reddish-orange flame sprang up. Ron glanced suspiciously at the powders on the table before adding the proper amount of each into the flame. As he added each powder, the fire turned the color of the powder, until finally, the dancing flames flickered with all the colors of the rainbow.
"Exactly what is this supposed to show?" Harry asked peering into the fire nonchalantly, obviously not the least bit interested in the subject.
"I dunno," Ron mumbled, listlessly staring into the flame. "Hey Harry," he said, straightening up a little, and concentrating his gaze at the center of the fire. "What's that?"
"What's what?" Harry asked. "I don't see anything."
"It's… someone laying on the floor, they look dead… and standing over them… someone else… someone evil. Harry! I think it's a Death Eater!" Ron said, still staring into the depths of the fire that were forming a color picture in his eyes.
"Ron, maybe your anger has affected your eyes or something," Harry told him, peering into the fire himself and seeing nothing.
Just then, Professor Trelawney appeared behind them. "What is it my dears?" she inquired. "What secret is the fire concealing?"
Ron took his eyes off the fire momentarily to roll his eyes in exasperation but nevertheless returned his gaze to the dancing flame.
"I think… the person on the floor is dead, or badly hurt or something. It's…" he squinted his eyes harder to clarify the image. "It's… oh my god, I think it's Hermione!"
As if on cue, the fire emitted a loud puff of smoke and the colors disappeared. As they watched, the multi-colored blob of smoke twisted itself into a symbol. First a skull, then a slithering green snake winding itself around the skull and out of the mouth.
"The Dark Mark!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed before swooning dramatically.
"I don't even fell like waking her up," Harry said, looking disgustedly at Professor Trelawney.
Lavender Brown gave him a dirty look, pulled out her wand, and whispered enervate and the unconscious Professor.
"Oh my dear," Professor Trelawney gasped the moment her eyelids fluttered open. "You have seen a true vision. An outlook on the near future. Although it may be somewhat foggy. In fire images it is difficult to tell the identity of actual people, and for an obscure reason, many times two people whose names start in the same letter are often confused with each other. Are you sure, dear, that the figure on the ground was not your friend Harry?"
"Well obviously," Ron said. "Hermione's a girl, professor, Harry's a guy, it's kinda hard to miss the difference between the two."
Most of the class burst out laughing at this.
"Besides," Ron continued. "It was probably just an optical illusion. I mean, Harry didn't see anything in the fire."
"That's because, my dear, the scene can only be envisioned by one that will stand at that point of view in the future," Professor Trelawney explained, working up an overdramatization. "How can your friend Harry see the vision if his position in it laying on the ground, staring into the eyes of his murderer with hatred, and gasping his last breath!"
Ron snorted loudly and Harry snickered behind his hand. Parvati Patil glowered at them before turning her full attention back to the Professor.
"After that disturbing image," Professor Trelawney continued, a little miffed that her Academy-Award-worthy monologue had not been taken seriously. "I must retire to rest my inner eye from all this psychic excitement. Class is dismissed for today."
Harry and Ron strolled out of the classroom quite
happily. By dinnertime, Harry had forgotten all about the image in the
fire. But somehow Ron just couldn't let it go. For the few seconds that
he had seen it, it had looked so real. That night Ron lay on his bed for
a long time listening to his roommates snore and contemplating what the
vision could have meant. Finally, he busied himself on brainstorming ways
to seek revenge on Seamus and came up with several good ideas before drifting
off into a dreamless slumber.
A/N: you like it? Wow it's long *marvels at her work for a moment* I've
never written a chapter that long before. Cool! Thanks for reading, please
review! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Oh yeah, and thanks to
all those that reviewed the first chapter!